Mama Leo

         Dull.  Completely and absolutely dull.  At least that was what Leo thought.  Just everything to him as of late had been, dull and boring and not VIXX.  They were working hard, recording shows, learning new dances, coming home late, getting two hours of sleep.  The life of the idol.  But just nothing felt colorful to him.  s were completely burnt out.  The pranksters, Hyuk and Hongbin, just had less life to them than usual.  N was doing his best to keep them from snapping at each other at every second and Ken was not helping, becoming moody at the drop of a pin.  And Ravi.  It was obvious Ravi wasn’t sleeping well by himself.  Leo didn’t think anyone had noticed, but the loud snores that usually echoed the dorm late at night were no longer there.  They only appeared when the six of them were together on the long rides back to the dorm or during their dinner break at the dance room. 

                Leo was worried.  He was usually the silent one, the moody one, the serious one.  Not everyone else.  And he loved that about his group.  Not that he would tell them.  But it was worrisome when he felt he was the most active in the group.  So he decided, one day of complete and fun Mama Leo.  It would only happen once.  And once only.  There was no way he would play mother to his group mates all the time.  But this time he would give everything that his group mates do for him back.  He was doing this for every time Ken made him laugh, for every time Hyuk and Hongbin made the whole group laugh with their pranks.  For Ravi who sometimes had to be the mature one to stop fights, and the most sensitive to their bad moods.  For N who was doing his best to be a good leader, but not always succeeding in stopping all the fights that have been happening as of late. 

                Leo sighed as he rolled out his bedding, Hyuk was already sleeping, having taken a shower as soon as they got home.  N was in the middle of eating a pot of ramen, Ken and Hongbin silently eating next to him.  And Ravi had locked himself up in his room not to long after his shower.  The light wasn’t on, but there were no snores coming out of the room.  Leo sighed again.  Rolling his bedding back up and collecting it beneath his arm.  No one noticed as he walked out of the room and to Ravi’s door.  He didn’t bother to knock, just opened the door, noticing that Ravi’s phone was playing music softly.

                “Hyung?”

                “They’re loud.”  Ravi nodded in understanding to him being in there.  Leo adjusted his bedding besides Ravi, making himself comfortable on his side.

                “Hey Hyung?”

                “Mm?”

                “It’s lonely.  Really lonely.  I really miss my family and then sleeping by myself at night, it’s just horrible.  I know you guys can’t sleep with my snoring and all, but lately I’ve been having nightmares about us breaking up and I can’t sleep until we are all together because then I know when I wake up my dreams won’t come true.”  Leo nodded.  Ravi had understood when they asked him to sleep in a room by himself, but Leo could see how it would become lonely. 

                ‘I guess its motherhood mode early then.’  Leo thought, moving closer to the younger boy to pull him into a hug.  “I don’t mind sleeping in here sometimes.  All you had to do was ask.”  He said.  Ravi only nodded, adjusting them so that he could rest his head on his Hyung’s chest.  Wrapping an arm around Leo’s waist. 

                “Really?” 

                “I’ll bring ear plugs.”  Leo sighed, “I’ll suffer tonight since we have off tomorrow.”

                “Thank you Leo Hyung.”  Ravi said, settling against Leo’s length.  Leo relaxed into his blankets, holding on to Ravi, doing his best to fall asleep before the youngest did.  It wasn’t meant to be though, five minutes later Ravi started to snore.  First a few small breaths against his shirt, and then the monstrous snores started. 

~

                Leo woke the next morning, surprisingly more rested then he thought he would be.  Ravi was basically using him as a body pillow, splayed out across Leo, his snores still rattling the room.  Leo maneuvered himself out from underneath the blonde boy. 

                He started cooking, just a quick easy and simple breakfast, but a breakfast that they all would be able to eat all the same.  He did do the one thing that he honestly (even as “acting mother”) never wanted to do.  All of VIXX’s laundry.  All the nasty sweaty clothes, down to last months.

                “My sense of smell is gone, I swear it is.”  He grumbled as he threw the managers piling clothes into the washer machine.  When he finished, he made sure that all the food was on their small table and that the table was set and then went to go wake s, starting with Ravi first.  He may be the member that can sleep the most but Ravi was a surprisingly easy person to wake up. 

                Leo spent the next ten minutes kicking his other members awake.  Almost getting his foot taken off by Ken, and N glared at him beneath a pile of blankets.  He huffed, if he wasn’t in full on mother mode he would just be tossing their skinny asses out of the room. But as it was, he was patient, well at least patient enough to just kick them over and over till they left the room.  By the time he got them all out to the living room and seated at the table he said only one word.

                “Eat.”  And Leo left back to Ravi’s room where he buried himself back under the covers with his face red with embarrassment. 

~

                His next trial was talking to Ken, and see why he was so moody.  And talking to Ken wasn’t something he ever wanted to do…even when in mother mode.  Ken was usually an annoying, overly talkative person; who never knew when to shut up.  Even when Leo glared at him Ken would still talk.

                “Just one question, what’s wrong.”  Leo said to himself, “that should be all it takes.”  But when he finally got Ken cornered after he did the breakfast dishes, the younger man wouldn’t say anything.  Finally, after asking the same question over and over for many times he placed a hand on the younger’s shoulder.  Taking deep breaths for the embarrassment that was slowly coming over him.

                “Hyung is always here, you know that right?  And it’s not like I talk to many people.  But whatever it is that is bothering you, I can help, I would do anything in my power to help.  But this isn’t the Ken I have grown used to, and honestly I don’t like it.”  Leo huffed and left the bedroom where Ken was determinedly staring at his phone screen.  Shaking his head in unhappiness. ‘Well fine, if he doesn’t want my help, I won’t help him.’  Leo basically pouted, upset that his path to helping Ken had been a bit deterred. 

                “Leo Hyung,” Hyuk called from the living room, body spread out over the whole couch.  Leo stopped his path from that main bedroom to the kitchen and looked at the youngest member on the couch.

                “Hyung, can we go outside today?  Walk around a bit please?”  Leo looked at the clock on the wall and then quietly calculated his earnings in the last few weeks and then he smiled.  Hyuk had been dying to get a new pair of shoes but he always sent his parents the large chunk of his earnings.

                “Ok, get ready.”  Leo said, turning to make his way to living room table where he last left his wallet and phone. 

~

                Hyuk was an excited mess.  He was bouncing around Leo as they walked, completely oblivious that Leo was taking the boy to the nearest shoe shop so he can purchase new shoes.

                “It feels so good to be outside!”

                “We go outside often.”

                “Yeah, but it’s never to play around or just have fun.  We’re always out for work, and most of the time we are really tired and can’t have fun.”  Hyuk pouted.  “Everyone’s been so tired lately when we have days off that no one wants to do anything with me.”  Leo nodded in understanding.  He normally liked doing things by himself, therefore all the members knew better than to ask him to do something.  But the other members, they probably were too tired to keep up with their maknae, and usually it was Hongbin that was there for Hyuk, them being only a year apart, but Hongbin had been tired too.

                “I go for a run every other night, I guess you can come.  It’s no way having fun, but at least you’re outside, yeah?”  Leo felt his neck heat.

                “Hyung…are you trying to be nice?”  Hyuk asked him incredulous.

                “No, just if you feel like fresh air and you don’t mind running I don’t care if you are with me.”

                “You are trying to be nice!”  Hyuk laughed and threw his arms around Leo’s shoulders.  “Oh, just wait till I tell Hongbin hyung!  He’s going to have a blast with this whenever he gets that stick out of his .”

                “You aren’t going to tell anyone.”  Leo said calmly, shaking free of Hyuk’s arm.

                “Aw hyung!  What’s so wrong with everyone knowing you’re nice anyway?”

                “People will bug me.”

                “People bug you now.”

                “Yes, but it’s not a lot of people.”  Leo huffed and then thought.  “Do you know what’s wrong with Hongbin?”

                “Some fan made a comment about his looks and now he’s overly preoccupied with pouting about it.”

                “That’s all?”

                “Hyung is sensitive about his looks.  Not all of us can be like you Hyung.  Uncaring what others think, even if you’re perfect looking and don’t know it.”

                “I’m not perfect Hyuk.”

                “Yes you are hyung.  You sing beautifully, you’re very graceful, you’re unique looking and everyone likes that.”

                “Just go pick out your shoes Hyuk.”

                “What?  Shoes?”  Hyuk looked at their surroundings and spotted the shoe shop.  Leo had to stifle his laughter as the younger boy gasped.  “Really?”  Hyuk jumped up and down, hoping into the store to find the pair of shoes he wanted.

                Well at least now he could work on whatever Hongbin was dealing with.

~`~

                He took a few deep breaths before marching into the bedroom, Hongbin seated on his blankets, gently rubbing his fingers against invisible lines.  Letting out a ‘tsk’ Leo grabbed Hongbin’s arm and dragged the younger to the bathroom.  Closing and locking the doors behind him.

                “Hyung?”  Hongbin asked scared.

                Leo only pulled out his phone and scrolled until he reached the first comment.  “Hongbin isn’t even useful to the group.  He can’t sing, can’t dance, and can’t even MC.”  Hongbin let out a little gasp, tears springing to his eyes.  Leo looked up.  “This is bull.  You are a wonderful dancer, and I can’t even rap, you can at least do both rapping and singing.  And it’s not like you can’t MC, you choose not to, which we will discuss later.”  Clearing his throat Leo scrolled through the comments again.

                “Artwork, he’s not even that good looking.  Did you see the lines on his face?  He looks so old looking.”  Leo looked back up at Hongbin and forcibly turned him to look at the mirror.  “There is nothing wrong with your skin.  You have adorable dimples, a smile that could kill and the most amazing eyes that light up in wonder at everything.  Whatever wrinkle this person thinks you have it tells a story completely unique to you, and that’s all that matters is that it’s a memory and one that makes you proud.”

                “Hyung?  Please?  I don’t want to hear this.”  Leo shook his head and scrolled through his phone again.

                “Can’t dance, probably can’t even dress himself, can’t sing, can’t, can’t can’t.  All Hongbin has going for is looks and even then other members still beat him out.”  Leo only sighed.  “You CAN do everything they say you can’t.  Just because it’s not to their standards doesn’t mean .  You make things possible for this group.  That’s why you were picked for this group.  You balance us out, you make us who we all in the Visual department at least, because if you look at you and then look at the rest of us there would definitely be something missing.  If I hear Hyuk tell me one more time you are moping about because someone said something about what you CAN’T do or what you look like, I will personally throw your into a two mile run.  You are better than words on a screen.  Don’t let them dictate you.”  Leo finished sternly. 

                “Hyung?”

                “We lost you once when we were training due to a negative comment.  And we were completely lost without you.  I won’t let you hit that rebellious stage again Hongbin.  Because like it or not VIXX doesn’t succeed without our visual artwork Hongbin who is good at everything he sets out to do.”  Long arms winded around his waist and Hongbin’s head tucked up under his chin.  Small sniffles explaining the growing wet spot Leo felt on his shirt.

                “Thank you, hyung.”

                “Hm.”  With a sigh the older pulled Hongbin’s head back to wipe at the boys tears with his thumbs.  “Now, do you know what Ken’s problem is?  Or N’s?”

~`~

                Leo was positively fuming.  How old were these two?  Fighting over a stupid pair of headphones all because they both have the same pair and one was misplaced.  He stomped his way to the bedroom, where Ken was currently in an ‘I’m pissed for a stupid reason leave me alone’ position, pouting every now and then at N who was lounging with a long face, earphones pressed firmly against his head.

                Leo tsked and took two long strides to N’s position before yanking the headphones away, balling them up and placing them into his pocket.

                N had the nerve to glare at him and Ken had the nerve to laugh at the situation.  Both caused Leo to shoot them a glare.

                “Here,” He handed N a crumpled bill.  “You two, YES TWO!  Are going to go to the market and pick BOTH of you up a new pair of headphones.  GET DIFFERENT COLORS.  I can’t believe you made all this drama over a pair of headphones.  How old are you?  You can’t even see your dongsaengs in pain?  Get dressed and leave now, and when you come back acting your age I might let you back inside to eat dinner.”  Both of them gaped at him.  It’s not like he yelled, he just emphasized their stupidity.  Their non-immediate moving just pissed him off more.

                “Do you think I’m playing?”  He said low and dangerous.  And just like a bomb was getting ready to go off, N and Ken jumped to their feet and ran to the front door, fighting to place shoes on and leaving the dorm.

                ‘Children!’  Leo shook his head and threw his hands up in the air, ‘never a moments rest with them.’  He headed into the kitchen and started on dinner.

~`~

                Normality never sounded so good.  They were all at the table, everyone.  Ken and N being annoying together, both having realized their stupidity over a pair of headphones and having bought new ones of different color.  Hongbin was smiling bright and happy, pushing Hyuk over for his bragging about his new shoes and that his hyung promised he could have fun outside every other day.  Even Ravi looked well rested, his deep laughter mingling in with everyone else, smacking Ken over some funny pun.

                This was normal.  This was the group he grew to love (not that they would ever know).  With a happy sigh Leo excused himself from the table.  It had been a long and exhausting day full of Laundry that seemed to have multiplied by the time he brought Hyuk back, immature members, dishes (another thing of ghostly multiplication), and immature members.  He never wanted to look at another sock, dish, or headphone again. 

                “Tomorrow will be normal VIXX.  No more Mama Leo.”  Leo gave a happy sigh and settled into his bedding in Ravi’s room, hopping to fall asleep before the other got there.

~`~

                He was woken by a massive dog pile of long limbs and forcibly brought out to the kitchen for an extremely burnt breakfast plate that was replaced with cereal.

                And a card.  ‘Thank You for ALL your hard work Mama Leo!’ 

                Yes, this was his “normal” group, one of the things he loves most, he might maybe think about playing Mama Leo to them again…

                …of course, it was only after Hell froze over.